Do You Like Me That Much? Miss Villainess-Chapter 108 : Want to Finish Me Off?

Crack!
Lightning tore through the dark clouds, striking the giant and producing rolling thunder.
Fierce winds carrying torrential rain made the withered leaf forest rustle loudly. The rain fell like pearls, pattering on the ground, extinguishing the mountain fire.
On the official road outside the city under the thunderstorm, there was complete silence.
Whether they were guards, demon clan members, bystanders, or assassins with ulterior motives, everyone looked up at the sky, staring dumbfounded at the supreme power struggle above.
The dragon giant, heavenly thunder, and dark fire intertwining like a myth!
Several bolts of thunder rolled in the clouds, twisted into what looked like a lightning spear nearly a hundred meters long. Then, under the divine dragon's indifferent gaze, it struck down heavily.
The giant's pupils widened in anger as it threw a punch.
Boom!!
Terrifying air waves exploded from where the two collided. Very close to the giant's fist, mist rose, and the rainwater was even evaporated by the high temperature that burst out in that instant!
The already precarious dead trees shattered and broke in the fierce wind.
"Block it!"
Jiang He's bodyguard Qin Mo roared, using a treasure to create a spiritual barrier, firmly blocking in front of the carriage, like a lonely boat sailing in a storm, tottering.
The horses were seized by divine might, foaming at the mouth and collapsing to the ground.
The guards were terrified, watching the immortals fighting above, almost unable to hold their halberds steady.
'So this is what second-rank sages are like?'
Qin Mo's pupils contracted. She had been guided by the Grand Guardian, but had never imagined that a battle between second-ranks could be like this.
Yun Juan unconsciously stepped back half a pace, her face pale. She was to assassinate the only daughter of such a person?
Beside her, the black-robed figure stood in place.
His dried fingers gripped the window sill tightly, body leaning forward, gaze fanatical, as if wanting to absorb every collision, every wave of power above into his eyes.
'So this is a second-rank sage?'
Did the person he served have such power?
'A Martial Saint…'
The black-robed figure couldn't help but sigh, heart burning, secretly thinking that in two months, if Prince Li could achieve his wish, he might make enough contributions to receive rewards and advance to the third rank.
The fourth rank of warriors was called Martial Grandmaster.
Third rank was Great Grandmaster.
And above Great Grandmaster was Martial Saint!
And now, he was just two stages away from those sages above, not out of reach!
'Still need to arrange for her... can't let this one ruin my plans…'
The black-robed figure glanced viciously at the assassin beside him, making up his mind.
○
'The Imperial Spirit Sect's divine dragon? The legendary dragon that controls wind and rain. Even though I've seen the CG in the game, looking at it now... the game cutscene doesn't capture even one-thousandth of it.'
Below, Mu Qinglan looked up at the sky, her gaze flickering.
She was someone who had seen grand spectacles before. Even before the summoning, she had seen the full power of this [Heavenly Divine Dragon] in game CGs, but even so, seeing it in person, her heart was still inevitably shocked.
This was power completely different from the Demon Maiden's Command!
In "Destiny," there were two types of ultra-long-range action mediums: sealing and divine descent.
Sealing, as the name implies, involved infusing power into a container that had been prepared in advance, then sealing it, with the purpose of releasing that power when the seal was removed.
This was the principle behind the Demon Maiden's Command.
The other type, divine descent, was achieved through special means to allow a second-rank entity to remotely manifest.
Each had its advantages and disadvantages.
The latter, divine descent, could unleash immensely powerful force after successful use, suitable for mutual destruction; the former was much simpler to prepare, with a significantly smaller cost.
And the biggest difference between the two was—
The divine descent vessel.
Since divine descent was required, a vessel was certainly needed. A second-rank's will couldn't descend across thousands of miles and fight with just will power.
So a divine descent vessel was needed.
The stronger the vessel itself and the less resistance it had to the descent, the stronger the second-rank's power could be.
However, after the event, when the second-rank's will departed, this empty vessel had a 99% chance of bursting from the excessive power, resulting in immediate death.
This was the reason the Demon Maiden's Command chose the sealing method.
The Maiden's Command was meant to protect the Demon Maiden, not to turn her into a suicide bomber.
The [Dragon Summoning Hairpin] in Mu Qinglan's possession was a third type.
Neither divine descent nor sealing, strictly speaking, it should be a small-scale summoning.
Around Heyang, when Mu Qinglan encountered danger, she could use this golden accessory to summon the divine dragon in the shortest time possible.
Because the cost wasn't high, the range was very small.
It was only effective near Heyang.
Even at the hunting grounds, it would have been out of range.
And to prevent casually disturbing the divine dragon, the [Dragon Summoning Hairpin] itself fixed a controllable dragon force to handle simple risks.
Last time at the Hundred Flowers Banquet, the reason Mu Qinglan didn't use this item was because she was confident her strength could properly handle the situation without external intervention.
This time was different.
If she didn't use this item, she would have become Mu Qinglan sauce.
'Even an incompletely descended second-rank's strength far exceeds an ordinary third-rank…'
'Beyond the Heaven Gate, it truly is as the game said, each step is a vast gap.'
Mu Qinglan looked at the sky, muttering softly.
'Give me a bit more time…'
'The storyline, weapons, obtainable acquired destiny traits, and those future villain bosses, when I gather all these things in my hand…'
'Great Xia? Foreign races?'
'Hmph!'
○
"You humans, do you care so much about this innate destiny trait?"
Under the sky, the giant spoke, the terrifying voice making people's eardrums painful.
"Innate destiny trait?"
The divine dragon knew the demon clan had misunderstood, thinking she was protecting Jiang He, but she didn't explain, letting the demon clan guess on its own.
When the demon clan realized it was futile, they would naturally stop targeting Jiang He.
Just that this child, Mu Qinglan, was too reckless. Although there was no sensing function between her and the [Dragon Summoning Hairpin], just from reading the morning papers, she could count how many life-and-death crises Mu Qinglan had experienced after meeting the National Advisor.
But this thing she had given her was being used for the first time...
The divine dragon lightly swung its tail, casually throwing out a bolt of thunder.
After all, the opponent was just a projection, not at full strength. She had already secured victory and was steadily suppressing him.
There was no need to rush to kill the opponent and expose weaknesses, allowing him to threaten the carriage she was subtly protecting.
"She must die!"
The giant withstood the thunder, roaring in anger, frantically mobilizing the killing aura within his body.
As he growled, the black-clad robust man's physical body also opened with pitch-black cracks!
The sky darkened, black clouds rolling.
In an instant, the black smoke giant's originally pitch-black, ethereal body was stained with a ring of dazzling blood light. The blood light churned, gathering in its palm, forming a blood-colored smoke ball, which it pressed down hard.
[Void Hole!]
Held up by the Imperial Spirit Sect's divine dragon, the demon lord knew it would be difficult to succeed, so he simply burned the entire body's power for a desperate strike!
The blood-colored smoke ball collapsed, contracted.
Like a black hole, about to devour everything in the world!
Correspondingly, the divine dragon also became solemn. With a long dragon's cry, the blue dragon fully stretched its body above the sea of clouds, its blue scales reflecting sunlight, emitting a golden glow.
The wind and rain grew fiercer, the thunder heavier.
When the divine dragon was half-hidden in the clouds, people only knew it was big, but not how big exactly.
But when the clouds dispersed and the blue dragon's true form was completely exposed in the sky, everyone below couldn't help but feel that perhaps this divine dragon was taller than mountains, wider than great rivers!
The dragon's whiskers trembled slightly as it spat out a light blue, perfectly round dragon pearl.
Then it lowered its head, indifferently looking at the black smoke giant below, which now seemed much smaller.
Boom!
Rumble!!!
The thunder was rapid and fierce!
Everything in heaven and earth seemed to turn into a white light, like an overexposed photograph, with other colors only gradually appearing after a long while.
Guards, demon clan members, assassins, or distant observing mortals, all instinctively closed their eyes.
Even practiced martial artists didn't dare to directly look at that momentary lightning!
"This is..."
Mu Qinglan instinctively spoke.
"[Heavenly Sound Fall], this is the power Sister Ao can freely unleash after releasing the dragon pearl," Jiang He looked at the pouring rain outside the window, explaining to Mu Qinglan.
Mu Qinglan knew that "Sister Ao" referred to the divine dragon outside, but still asked:
"Jiang Jiang is very familiar with the divine dragon?"
As she spoke, she propped her hands on the chair, moving herself closer to Jiang He, almost shoulder to shoulder.
—It was too noisy outside; her hearing was temporarily weakened.
"Not really?" Jiang He tilted her head, somewhat adorably saying: "It's just that I often played with a miniature version of Sister Ao when I was little."
"That's not familiar?" Mu Qinglan was speechless.
She turned her thoughts again, thinking, Jiang He doesn't have something like mine because she's a princess? A sensitive identity?
The National Advisor's mansion couldn't openly extend its hand to a princess.
Being familiar was already the limit.
She remembered that although Jiang He was very, very familiar with Ning Shuyu, she wasn't even nominally a disciple. This was checks and balances...
"This demon clan attack was aimed at you again, Jiang Jiang. After this is over, have you thought about asking your family for something for protection?" Mu Qinglan asked.
Jiang He blinked her eyes and said: "I'll go talk to them?"
"Put your own safety in your heart! This time it was a demon lord; what will it be next time?" Mu Qinglan puffed her cheeks, making a very worried expression.
"This was an accident."
Jiang He muttered.
"Look at how ruthless the demon clan is. We can't just ignore it, can we!" Mu Qinglan hadn't expected the demon clan's assassination to be so deadly compared to the storyline. Why had they gone crazy all at once?
Butterfly effect?
Was it because Jiang He had reached the seventh rank early, making them more aware of her status?
Or because the Boundary Shadow Pearl was lost, and they had made additional countermeasures?
"Then, I'll go back and talk to them?" Jiang He tilted her head, somewhat uncertainly.
She actually thought there wasn't a big problem. At most, just don't leave Heyang until she had the power to protect herself.
"Hurry up and talk to them."
Mu Qinglan urged, hugging her neck.
This was her little cutie whom she had worked so hard to deceive into her mouth. She couldn't lose her due to carelessness, killed by the demon clan with a couple of strikes.
If that happened, wouldn't her role as a bad woman be in vain?
She did have some possessiveness and protectiveness.
Feeling the warm breath by her ear and the bad woman's caring voice, Jiang He's little face reddened slightly.
"Oh."
She nodded weakly, her expression restrained.
○
Outdoors, smoke curled upward.
In the sky, neither the divine dragon nor the giant remained.
The guards looked at the brightened sky and collectively sighed in relief.
It was finally over.
Who would have thought that a mere escort mission, although they had some mental preparation, would provoke such a confrontation between two second-rank powers?
"Who do you think called the divine dragon?"
The guards remained in place, waiting for reinforcements, when suddenly someone curiously asked.
"...The imperial princess?"
Someone hesitated.
"I heard the imperial princess studies at the National Advisor's mansion, a one-in-ten-thousand magic talent. Being valued is only natural," someone convinced themselves.
The guards looked at each other, unable to confirm whether their guesses were correct.
"The imperial princess?"
The centurion of the guards shook his head slightly, having his own guess.
As a centurion of the Phoenix Feather Guard, he knew things ordinary guards didn't, such as the fact that although the National Advisor's mansion was prestigious, it also followed the requirement of not excessively interfering with royal descendants.
Something that could summon a second-rank divine dragon most likely wouldn't be on Jiang He.
So it must be that princess?
Closely related to the National Advisor's mansion, even able to have a second-rank divine dragon descend remotely when in danger...
"Is she also a magic talent?"
The centurion understood, not daring to speak further.
Jiang He was called a magic talent because of her innate destiny trait and exceptionally excellent learning speed. If that frail princess was also a genius, then she...
"Is everyone alright!"
With a flash of fire, General Luo of the Phoenix Feather Guard quickly returned, still with blood at the corners of her mouth from being blasted away earlier.
"Both are inside. The formation hasn't been broken, but as for their specific condition..." The centurion bowed slightly, looking troubled.
"I'll check!"
General Luo glanced at her, not even having had time to retrieve her weapon, approaching in armor, entering the formation based on her identity as a royal guard.
"Your Highness!"
"I'm fine." Jiang He nodded, her voice cool.
In front of Mu Qinglan, she would instinctively reveal her true nature, a bit silly, but in front of outsiders, she still maintained a cool appearance.
Jiang He's coolness differed from Shen Yao's.
Shen Yao was cold both externally and internally, a naturally cool temperament; Jiang He was more socially anxious, not knowing how to interact with people, so she disguised herself as a little hedgehog.
Being a little hedgehog for too long, she unconsciously became prickly all over, but in the hands of the bad woman, she could also be softened.
"Would you prefer to depart now, or wait here for reinforcements?"
Hearing this, Jiang He instinctively looked at Mu Qinglan.
General Luo noticed this, startled in her heart, but said nothing.
Their relationship seemed a bit too good...
"Let everyone rest a bit. General Luo just fought so hard, must be tired too. When reinforcements arrive, and after General Luo retrieves the weapon that was thrown away, we'll go, okay?" Mu Qinglan asked for opinions.
"As you say," Jiang He nodded.
"Thank you."
General Luo accepted the favor, imperceptibly nodding to Mu Qinglan before quickly withdrawing to give orders.
The guards, receiving orders, scattered, clearing branches in the surroundings. After leaving a few people on alert, they rested in place.
Shortly after, a stream of light descended, shaking the ground.
"How is the princess!"
A robust elder emerged from a large crater, his gaze sharp, white eyebrows raised coldly, with blood-stained cloth-wrapped items behind him.
"The princess is fine, just a bit shocked. Planning to rest here before continuing," General Luo went forward to say.
"Thank you for your hard work."
The royal Grand Guardian Yu Guangzheng glanced at her pale face, his tone slightly softening, explaining: "When I arrived, I saw the Imperial Spirit Sect's victory was certain. Rather than rushing to help, I went to deal with the fleeing demon clan members."
"Any injuries?"
General Luo's expression became more serious: "On our side, three seriously injured, two lightly injured, no deaths so far. As for other areas, I don't know."
"As long as they're not dead, that's fine. I called for imperial physicians; they'll be here soon."
The old man said concisely, then instinctively glanced at the carriage, hesitating for a moment.
"Is that from Prince Qi's family?"
"Yes."
"It's her again. We owe her thanks this time. After returning, we'll have to think about what gifts to prepare... And the demon clan!"
The old man's gaze swept the surroundings, his eyes turning fierce:
"If we don't teach them a lesson, they'll think Great Xia has no one!"
"You mean?"
"The demon clan's population is quite large." He said calmly.
Is he suggesting war with the demon clan?
General Luo was shocked, but recalling the recent rumors in the palace about troop and food mobilization, it seemed understandable.
"Go retrieve your mystical weapon. I didn't notice where it fell, but you should know."
"Understood."
After receiving the order, General Luo saluted and withdrew, instantly leaping dozens of feet away.
With the second-rank Grand Guardian watching over, she wasn't worried about problems. If anyone was bold enough to cause trouble at this time, the ones who should be worried were them.
○
"Heavenly Divine Dragon... Imperial Spirit Sect..."
"Magic talent..."
Behind the window frame, the black-robed figure stood with his hands behind his back, two palms intertwined under his wide robe, seeming to express his current unsettled mood.
Outside, there was neither wind nor rain, neither storm nor sunshine.
But he still felt disoriented.
Because after the divine dragon and demon clan had all retreated, he finally had time to consider why the demon clan had come and why the divine dragon had appeared.
The demon clan, without question, was attracted by the Ninth Imperial Princess.
The demon clan's weakness to water was almost common knowledge, and the Northern Defense Army would prioritize recruiting warriors and magicians skilled in water techniques.
As for the divine dragon...
Honestly, the black-robed figure could hardly believe it. He knew the National Advisor's mansion would avoid suspicion and certainly couldn't give the Ninth Imperial Princess something so important. But there were only two people in that carriage—
If not her, it could only be Mu Qinglan.
What identity did that daughter of Prince Qi have to be so valued by the Imperial Spirit Sect?
A genius?
Or even, a transcendent genius?
The black-robed figure's face was serious, head lowered, brow furrowed, silent, clearly starting to worry about his previous plans.
"So now, should I still try to kill her?"
He was somewhat caught on the horns of a dilemma.
Thinking this, he noticed Yun Juan's slightly dazed expression and her still-shocked gaze that hadn't yet recovered, and finally made up his mind:
"When she returns to the city and they separate, when the defense slackens, go try."
"But that method?" Yun Juan hesitated.
Can it be used casually?
The black-robed figure inwardly cursed, feeling his choice was increasingly correct. Keeping this subordinate around would eventually cause a big mess for him.
"Don't worry, that method certainly can't be used casually."
"Rather, in this time just after using that method, it's our best opportunity."
"I see."
Yun Juan nodded, not doubting the truth of her superior's words.
This was indeed true. Having just summoned the divine dragon, there was a 100% chance it couldn't be summoned again in the short term. But if she had other life-saving methods, that would be different.
Perfect timing to let this disposable piece try.
'Such a genius, if killed, would definitely add wings to the master's great cause!'
○
After the arrival of the royal Grand Guardian, this incident quickly concluded.
The demon clan was completely vanquished.
Apart from a few neurotic individuals who mistakenly believed there was a secret treasure here and didn't recognize their own capabilities, not many people died in this incident.
But due to the terrifying confrontation, the "cause and effect" of this incident, embellished countless times, still made its way into the teahouses and alleys of Heyang City.
This was a big piece of gossip.
Compared to the black bowl that had covered the eastern district some time ago, undoubtedly, this divine dragon's appearance was more soul-shaking.
Although this incident was still in the fermentation stage, it was imaginable that—
Mu Qinglan had thoroughly become famous this time.
Although ordinary people hearing this news might not care about her existence, thinking it must have been the princess's guard, those who knew about the mutual restraint between the royal family and the National Advisor's mansion understood the inside story more clearly.
That [Heavenly Divine Dragon] had not come for the Ninth Imperial Princess.
But for that Princess Mu.
But why? Why would a great figure like the [Heavenly Divine Dragon] pay so much attention to her? Even gifting her with a token, providing personal protection?
After excluding all other possible answers, there might only be one—
She was a genius.
An undisputed genius.
Only a genius in the way of magic could make the National Advisor's mansion break precedent like this and invest in her.
If that was the case, her value and status instantly became extraordinary...
In the Six Bureaus, when Shen Yao saw this news, her gaze slightly darkened.
More people knew about Mu Qinglan's special nature, but the most important secret was still in her hands—about her vile character, the true nature of that bad thing...
Not far away, Bai Yuyu stopped her martial practice, took a sip of water.
Mu Mu has become so powerful!
But only I know about Mu Mu's feat of breaking through the Human Gate in three days, hehe! They don't know.
The little secret remains!
In Prince Qi's mansion, Zhu Yan sighed in relief, thinking that no matter what, it was good that Sister Mu was safe.
And in many other places, different people were worrying about this shocking news, pondering their future attitude toward this princess.
Upon hearing this news, the Bai family elder directly said:
"Listen to her instructions on this matter. When this favor is almost used up, we'll consider other options."
The Jiang family was also rejoicing in their recent gestures of goodwill.
And at the center of the event, in the small forest about two miles south of Heyang, the convoy that had rested for over half an hour finally changed to new horses and slowly set off.
The sound of hooves was neither hurried nor slow.
The gate guards had already received instructions from their superiors: if carriages meeting certain conditions arrived, quickly welcome them into the city gate with the highest standard of etiquette.
After passing through the city gate, seeing her family's carriage, Mu Qinglan finally proposed parting ways with Jiang He.
"Then I'm going?"
"Shall I escort you a bit further?" Jiang He blinked.
"No need. You return to the palace first. If you want to meet, there will be plenty of opportunities in the coming days," Mu Qinglan smiled, refusing.
That Grand Guardian was still waiting for Jiang He to return. She naturally wouldn't make a fool of herself by trying to take Jiang He home.
If she were to truly take her, it clearly wouldn't be now.
And most importantly, there were still people secretly eyeing her. If you came with me, how could those insignificant pests find an opportunity to make a move against me?
Right,
our Heyang's most vicious assassin lady?
"Then I'm going." Jiang He looked eagerly, somewhat reluctant.
This little hedgehog had never been good at expressing her emotions, so even though she was reluctant to part and wanted to chat more with Mu Qinglan, she only stared eagerly and spoke dryly.
Fortunately, Mu Qinglan understood her well.
"See you later."
She smiled sweetly, opened her arms, and gently hugged Jiang He.
"Mm, see you later." Jiang He visibly became happier.
After getting into her own carriage and the two carriages completely separated, Mu Qinglan finally cooled her face and calmly asked the empty air:
"Did she follow?"
"Behind, on the left!"
The black cat obediently lay on her lap, pointing with her soft paw.